Live with Love
by Nudge999
Summary: Harmony is the daughter of Aphrodite. She's sent on a quest with her friend Elliott to save her friend Ella from the Minotaur, which has captured her.
1. Ella's quest

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**Disclaimer: As much as I want to wake up and own percy Jackson... I can't :( **

I sighed as I trudged up the steps to my cabin at camp Half-Blood. I had just completed probably one of the hardest days of training in my life, and I had tons of homework to catch up on. Plus, my roommates would most likely all be giggly and annoying to be around tonight. Great. Just my luck.

It wasn't easy being a daughter of a goddess, let me just say that now. I was a daughter of Aphrodite. So it's not like I was even that special. I was just another daughter of a goddess who had tens of kids. Maybe even hundreds. Aphrodite was known for her promiscuous behavior.

So there's my mom's story. Don't even ask about my dad's. I had no idea who the heck my dad even was! And I sure as heck wasn't going to ask my mom about it. Seriously. I had only ever seen her once, not counting when I was born. But other then that, I had only seen her once, and it had been eight years ago, when I was six. Anyway, it was probably just one of Hephaestus' kids (He's my mom's husband. Even though having a husband doesn't really stop her from doing... you know... with whomever she wants to). So anyway, I never really got too worked up about who was my dad.

"Hey, Harmony!"

I looked over to see my best friend (and technically sister) Ella waving me over to her bunk.

"What's up?" I asked, throwing my bag on my bed, which was right next to hers.

"Guess who's going on a mission?" She asked, her eyes shining. I gasped.

"What?!" I cried, "You?"

She nodded, her golden curls bouncing with every movement. That was one thing about the daughters (or sons) of Aphrodite. We're all so beautiful. We all have different hair, eye, and skin colors, but we're all stunningly gorgeous.

"So... where are you going?" I asked, suddenly jealous. I had always wanted to have a quest. And now my best friend got to go on one. Not fair.

"I'm supposed to go try to kill the Minotaur," She said, suddenly looking nervous, "It's nothing large, but I'm still scared out of my wits! And... you know what happened to Sarah..."

We both looked down at our shoes, trying to forget what we had heard. Sarah (One of Athena's daughters) had been sent out to kill the Minotaur a few months ago. She had slept in an old tree trunk that was close to where she would strike the Minotaur the next morning. When camp didn't hear from her for a week, they sent someone out, only to find her horribly mauled body. We hadn't had anyone leave on a quest since, and I was scared for my friend.

"Well, the only reason she failed was because she slept on the job. If you go soon, you'll track him and kill him in about a week, or maybe less," I said encouragingly. Ella smiled at me.

"Thanks," She said gratefully, "And... well, I'm supposed to leave tonight."

I faked a smile, hoping that my jealousy was well-hid, "Good luck, sis."

I squeezed her tightly before watching her grab her bag, sword, and shield and head out of the cabin.

**So? So? What'd'ja think??? Sorry it was a little short and it might not seem to be going anywhere, but I promise I'll try my best. So anyway, I want to know what you thought of this, so press the beautiful shiny green button right down there, and no one gets hurt!!!!!**


	2. Harmony's Quest

**Hey! Thanks so much for the reviews! They helped a lot! Please keep reviewing, and I'll try to post a chapter a day. Since I'm kind of writing this as I go along, if you have any ideas for something I should do, please tell me!**

**Disclaimer: Guess what??? I stole the rights to Percy Jackson!!! :D Sadly, I'm just kidding. I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but I **_**do **_**own all of the characters that I added in!**

"Come on, Harmony, your hearts just not in it today," Elliott Bates, my best guy friend and son of Eros, said to me the next day during a mock sword fight. I sighed.

"Sorry," I said, stabbing my sword viciously in the ground, "I'm just a little out of it."

I went to sit down on a large rock. He sat next to me.

"I'm really sorry about Ella," He said, giving me a quick one-armed hug, "But she was really excited about her mission. Can you just try to be happy for her? You've been moping around all day, which won't help anything."

"I know," I said, frustrated, "But what else am I supposed to do? I'm one of the best fighters and brightest students. I've been going here since I was too young to remember, since I have no mortal to care for me. I mean, my mom only kept me for two years before sending me off here. So don't you think that the girl who's been here the longest deserves a quest?"

"Why do you want one?" He asked, "They're dangerous. And risky. Some kids don't come back, and others don't complete the task anyway."

"Well, yeah, but I want to be able to prove myself. Since I'm the daughter of the goddess of love, I'm automatically written off as the weak damsel in distress. But I'm not. I'm one of the toughest girls here."

"Besides Ares daughters," Elliott muttered, "But yeah, that's true. I see what you mean."

Then he started laughing, "But honestly, Harmony, if anyone sees you as a damsel in distress, then they need to get their head examined. You could obviously kick anyone's ass."

I flashed him a quick grin of thanks before jumping up and grabbing my sword.

"So?" I laughed at his shocked expression, "Are we going to finish this fight or not?!"

***

The next few days flew by with no word from Ella. I was growing more and more nervous, but I didn't say anything to anyone, in case I jinxed myself. People noticed, though. Aria, one of my cabin mates, kept asking me what was wrong, and everyone else who shared a cabin with me kept assuring me that Ella was alright. I wanted to scream. Just this sitting and waiting was driving me mad.

"I swear," I said angrily one day as I worked on my ancient Greek homework with Elliott, "If _one more person _tells me to stop worrying, I think I'll charge out of here and battle the Minotaur myself."

"What will that solve?" He asked.

"I won't be going bonkers," I stated, "I hate just sitting here. I can't do it."

"It's the ADHD," he responded, "Most half-bloods have it. I'm assuming you were never tested for it, since you grew up here?"

I shook my head, "No, I was never tested for it. But Chiron told me that he thinks I have it, so I probably do."

"Speaking of Chiron," Elliott said, tilting his head to point out someone coming up behind me. I turned to see the half-horse half-man that helped run the camp walking up to me with a grave look on his face. My stomach turned over.

"Morning, Harmony. Morning, Mr. Bates."

"Good morning, Chiron," We both responded respectfully.

"I'm afraid I have some rather... unfortunate news for you, Harmony."

A lump started to form in my throat. What if something had happened to Ella? I would never forgive myself. Even though it wasn't my fault... still, I would absolutely die if she was killed.

"Is Ella okay?" I blurted. An amused smile crept onto Chiron's face.

"Yes... well, as far as we know," He said kindly, "It's just that... we lost totally communication with her. The Minotaur appears to have left, but she's just... gone. We've sent men after her, but they found nothing. _Nothing_. Not even... remains of anything."

I tried not to imagine Ella, lying dead and torn apart on the grass, the Minotaur tearing her apart. I shuddered.

"Well, can't you iris message her?" Elliott asked. I was glad that at least one of us was thinking straight, but Chiron just shook his head.

"No. We can't reach her," He said sadly, "Nothing works."

"Nothing?" I asked desperately.

"Nothing. So," He said, "That's why I wanted to send out two young campers who were more then ready to fight off whatever challenges they meet."

I started to feel a bubbly excitement, "Oh, Chiron, do you mean-"

"Of course I mean you two," He smiled warmly at us, "I want you two to leave tomorrow morning. Now, you'll need clothing, money for food, and weapons. And a good night's sleep and a full breakfast tomorrow. God it?"

I nodded enthusiastically, "Oh, thank you, Chiron! Thank you so much! I've been wanting to leave on a quest for forever! This is amazing!"

Chiron smiled at me again, "Your welcome. You're more then ready for this."

I thanked him one more time, and then Elliott and I went off to pack for our big day tomorrow.

**Sorry It was a slow chapter, I'm hoping the upcoming ones will have more exciting stuff.**

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	3. Attack

**A/N: I want to thank Annie Get Your Board for the great reviews! They mean a lot to me! All of you other people reading this, Get cracking! Please review!**

**BTW, I have only read the first Percy Jackson book, so if I leave out any really crucial thing, please tell me!**

**Anyways, I hope you like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I haven't stolen the rights to Percy Jackson... yet....**

The next morning, I grabbed my few items and practically ran to Chiron's cabin. I saw that Elliott was already there.

"What took you so long?" He teased. I swatted him with my hand before turning to Chiron, dizzy from excitement.

"What's the plan?" I asked cheerfully. Chiron beamed at me.

"I love your enthusiasm, Harmony," He said, "But... well, please don't take this too harshly, but your quest is a very easy one. You won't really need a plan. Just go find Ella and bring her back."

I nodded, not letting this get to me. If I got to fight even one measly monster, I would be happy. Glancing at Elliott, I saw that he looked slightly nervous, but he was hiding it with a smile. I rolled my eyes. Elliott always had to act tough.

"So, then I guess you should be off," Chiron said, "Best of luck to you. I'll iris-message you tomorrow morning to check up on you. And please don't be afraid to IM me back!"

He handed me some of the Greek coins that I would need to IM him. I thanked him and we exchanged good-byes. With a happy cartwheel, I was off, dragging Elliott behind me.

***

"I'm tired."

"Stop complaining."

"I'm hungry, too. I want some food."

"Shut it."

"Ugh. I'm _really, really _thirsty."

"We have a water bottle, dingbat."

Elliott grabbed the water bottle from me and drank thirstily. We were walking down a highway at about nine that night. Chiron had given Elliott a map, and he had marked some hotels/motels that he thought we should stay at.

"We're only about a mile away from this hotel," I said, stabbing it with my finger, "And that's the best one he has on here. Come on, it's nothing that camp hasn't prepared us for!"

"How can you be so cheerful and optimistic?" He complained, "I can barely move my feet."

"Clearly you can, since you're walking quite fine right now."

Elliott stuck his tongue out at me, "You know what I mean."

We continued walking, occasionally being passed by a car. Every time a car would whiz by us, they would send a cloud of dust and a whiz of warm, summer air. And every time, Elliott would start coughing.

"Oh, shut up," I said, "Hey, look at the stars!"

"They're much better out in the country," Elliott said, then he coughed, "Less light pollution."

"I want to go out in the country and live there," I sighed, "I want to see the stars every night. I want to live with the stars!"

"You're a weird nut," Elliott commented, but I could see his smile.

"Yes I am, but that's why you love me," I laughed, and suddenly felt full of energy, "Elliott, how about we start looking in those trees for monsters? I want to fight something now."

I was itching with anticipation. I wanted to kill a monster. I wanted to fight something.

"It's your ADHD. Now will you stop? Chiron even told us that we most likely won't fight anything."

I sighed and looked down at my feet, then wistfully at the trees lining the highway. I so badly wanted to run in there and find a monster... but Elliott would never forgive me. And besides, I would have plenty of time for that later.

"Look, a town," Elliott said gratefully, "Finally we can get some rest."

A small roar came from the trees.

"Elliott, did you hear something?" I asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Now you're hearing things," He said, "Come on, Harm. We won't find anything tonight!"

I frowned, "But seriously, I heard something!"

Elliott rolled his eyes, "Harm, would you-"

I gasped as a huge shape came crashing though the trees. It looked like a man- a _giant _man. And there was something quite peculiar about his face- while his tanned skin showed one nose, a mouth, and other normal facial features, he only had one eye. Right smack dab in the center of his forehead. Spotting us, he let out a roar and started running at us.

"Cyclops," I whispered.

"Your sword! Harm, your sword!" Elliott yelled, grabbing his from his belt. I was frozen. He was really so... _big_. And scary. He was running at us now, torn clothes and all.

"Harmony!" Elliott screamed, "Please! Grab. Your. SWORD!"

Snapping into action at the last minute, I grabbed my sword and slashed at the monster. I cut a nice chunk out of his leg, and he started howling at me. He grabbed at me and slashed my face, then my arm with his large, unkempt nails. Elliott ran around to his back and tried to stab him in his chest, but the Cyclops was just too tall.

"Harm! Hoist me up so I can get him!" Elliott yelled, but I had a different idea. I started running, zig-zagging around. Thankfully, there were no cars on the highway so I used it to run on. The Cyclops roared and started chasing me, but was clumsy at swerving. Elliott just stared at me, but I knew what I was doing. Running in circles and random shapes, I was trying to trip Cyclops. I succeeded. With a might crash, he fell to the ground. I ran onto his back and plunged my sword straight where I assumed his heart would be. Then I ran to Elliott and clutched at him as we watched the mighty monster fade away.

"Oh god," I whispered, falling against Elliott, "That was terrifying."

Elliott nodded, rubbing my back.

"Let's just get to the hotel," I sighed, suddenly exhausted. Elliott agreed and started half-carrying me along with him. When we reached the hotel, we checked in to an employee who clearly had no idea why two bloody, sweaty teenagers were checking into a three star hotel for a night. But he gave us a room, so we were happy.

"Do I have to shower?" I moaned when I had laid down on my bed, "I'm too tired to move."

"You're covered in blood," Elliott replied, shoving me into the bathroom, along with clean clothes and towels, "When you clean yourself off, then I'll dress your wounds."

I quickly showered and dressed myself, to find Elliott sitting in clean clothes on the couch, ready with bandages. I sat next to him and he started to wrap my arm.

"This is a nasty cut," He observed, "Are you feeling dizzy? I think you lost a lot of blood."

"I'm fine," I yawned, "Just tired, that's all."

I leaned against him while he put a large band-aid over the cut on my face. I heard him yawn, and moments later I was asleep.

**Hope you liked it! What did you think of the battle? PLEASE REVIEW!!!! Or I think I might send Chuck Norris on you! Jk, but please do review.**


	4. Iris Message

**Two chapters in one night, I'm on a roll! Please R&R**

I woke to the sun filtering down on my face. I yawned and realized that I had fallen asleep on Elliott's shoulder. He was still asleep, but my face flamed red. Even though we were like siblings, there had been a few times in the past where I had had sort of a thing for him.

Standing up quietly so that I didn't wake him, I went over to the mini-fridge where hotels always store the overpriced water and some food. Thankfully, there were a few bagels in there, so I took one and devoured it. Then I opened the map and went quietly into the bedroom to get dressed and formulate a plan for the day.

"Hey, Harm," I jumped when I heard the bedroom door creak open a few minutes later.

"Oh, sorry, did I wake you?" I asked anxiously as Elliott padded sleepily into the room, clutching a bagel.

"Nah," he yawned, flopping down on the bed, "I just wanted to see where you went off too. I didn't want you to plan anything big without me."

"I already have half our day planned," I informed him, and he rolled his eyes.

"Really? You're usually quite the procrastinator."

"That's for school stuff," I explained, peering down at the map, "And camp stuff. This is actually interesting."

Elliott took a bite of his bagel while he digested this. We sat there for a few moments, him eating and me examining, until he broke the silence.

"So where _are _we going?" he asked, sitting up and looking over at my notebook, where I had carefully made note of everything, "Ella could be anywhere... and there might be more monsters. Don't you want to just take a day off? Heal from Cyclops? You had two really bad cuts, Harm. You should let them heal."

"What if one day of rest is the difference between Ella living and dying?" I protested, "I could never let her die. She's our best friend. I miss her. I feel like I haven't seen her in forever. I need to get her back."

Elliott shrugged.

"Suit yourself. If your cut gets worse or scars up horribly, it's not my fault."

I shrugged this off and went back to looking at the map.

"Harmony! Elliott!"

I looked up to see Chiron grinning at us from a bubble of water in front of us. I smiled back at him.

"Good morning, Chiron," I said, "I'm glad you were able to iris-message us."

"I'm glad I was too," He said, frowning at me, "You have bandages on your arm and face... how bad are your cuts?"

I shrugged. I hadn't even looked at them yet, truth be told.

"Can you remove your bandages, so I can look at them?" Chiron pressed. I nodded and started un-wrapping them. Once I had, I looked down at my arm and gasped. I had two long, red cuts from my shoulder to my elbow. I was suddenly worried about my face.

"Chiron, how bad is it?" I asked, tilting the left side of my face to him. I could see the alarm in his eyes and was instantly fearful.

"Oh, how bad is it?" I wailed, "Do I look alright?"

"You look fine," Elliott assured me, squeezing my elbow, "Doesn't she, Chiron?"

"Oh, yes," Chiron said, but I could tell he was lying. I had known him since I was two. I always could tell if he was lying.

"Give me a mirror," I demanded, and Elliott (who was giving Chiron a rather reproachful look) reached into a drawer of the bedside table and grabbed out a mirror. I snatched it from him and screamed.

My face. My beautiful face. I was a daughter of Aphrodite, and yet I was _hideous_. I now had three- yes, three- long cuts from the top of my ear down through my mouth to my chin. My lip was split at two parts from the cut, and I didn't think that it would heal. Tears welled up in my eyes.

"I look horrible," I whimpered, "Oh, gods... I look absolutely horrid..."

"Don't worry, you look fine," Elliott soothed, snatching the mirror away from me, "It will heal."

I glared at him, "No, it won't. Those cuts are too deep and too wide to heal without scarring. I will always be deformed..."

Chiron soon looked uncomfortable, "Look, my time on this IM is almost up, so I'll speak to you in a day or two, okay? Feel free to contact me at any time, and good luck on the rest of your quest."

His face disappeared. I buried my face in a pillow.

"I never want to leave this house again," I moaned.

"Harm, hon, this isn't a house," Elliott said gently, rolling me over so I could see him, "And you don't look awful. Tons of people have scars. Look, I even have one on my forehead. And since your young, it will probably go away eventually. And since you're a daughter of Aphrodite, you can never look ugly. Trust me, it's true. It's just how you're born."

I sat up and looked at him grudgingly, "Ugh. You're right. I'm being such a wimp, when there are other matters to discuss... like Ella, for example."

We continued to plan our day, but my hand kept reaching up to trace the lines now etched on my face forever.

**Hey, I don't really think that chapter was as strong as my other ones, so please review me some constructive criticism!**

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	5. The Lake

**Random q... why did someone review saying 'hi bob! Update!" My name's not bob... **

**Disclaimer: Since I didn't own it last chapter, do you really think that I would own it this chapter??**

"Alright," I said, looking down at the map and at our surroundings, "I don't think this is quite right. It says that the highway should be two streets that way, but all I see is woods."

I pointed at a long stretch of trees in front of us. Elliott frowned and grabbed at the map.

"You have it upside-down," He rolled his eyes, "See? So we should be heading west. That's where Ella went."

"Do you think we'll find her?" I asked, probably for the millionth time. He sighed for the millionth time and nodded for the millionth time.

"Will you stop asking?" He asked, annoyed, "I have no idea!"

"What will we do when we find her?" I asked, "Will we just... turn around? I mean, we can't just turn around. We would obviously have to kill the Minotaur. It's terrorizing the people."

"Chiron never told us to kill the Minotaur, so yes, we would just turn around."

"But-"

"Harmony! Shut it!"

I was able to keep quiet for a few minutes, but then I thought of something.

"When do-"

"Harmony. If you say one more word in the next ten minutes, I think I will be forced to drive my sword through you."

I opened my mouth to retaliate, but Elliott gave me the world's best death glare, so I shut it again. I started humming to myself, and I started kicking a rock along with me as I walked. The sky was a very nice shade of blue... with those puffy clouds. Those puffy clouds were very nice... and those birds, they could sing very well. I wish humans could sing as well as birds.

"Why are you singing?" Elliott gave me a weird look, "You were saying something... something about birds? And clouds?"

I laughed, and realized that I must have been singing my thoughts out loud.

"Sorry," I apologized, "Do you want me to be quiet now? I'll focus on not singing."

Elliott grinned at me, "Nah. I like listening to your scatterbrained thoughts. It's pretty funny."

I took a swipe at him, but then screwed my face up in pain when I realized that it had been my injured arm. I looked down to see a cracked open scab with some blood oozing out.

"Harmony, could you _please _focus on healing your arm?" Elliott re-bandaged my arm for me, "We can't afford for you to have an injury if we meet another monster. And since that Cyclops was able to find us so quickly, I don't want to know what else we might meet."

"I think we should research some Greek monsters common to this area," I said without thinking. Then I laughed, "Oh, der. Humans think monsters don't exist. But still, we should research some monsters that we might have to face. You know, to find their weak spots."

"But we've already learned about a lot of creatures from camp. And I think that we should focus our energy on finding and returning Ella to camp as fast as we can."

"But researching would help us find her," I argued. Elliott sighed and shook his head, but he didn't respond. Then he frowned.

"Do you... hear something? Like... like..."

I frowned back at him, "No, I don't. Do you think it's another monster?"

He shook his head, "its like... like, a cry. Or something like that."

I heard it. It was a faint cry in the distance, but I knew that I would recognize it anywhere.

"Ella!" I cried, my heart racing, "I would be able to tell her voice anywhere! She has the most beautiful voice... do you think it's her? Oh, I do hope that it's her!"

"Well, let's see," Elliott responded. We quietly ran into the trees and began darting through them until the cry became closer. But we couldn't find her. Then we came to a lake, and the crying was closer then ever before.

"Oh my gods," Elliott whispered, and I looked to the middle of the lake. There, I saw three beautiful women, sitting on rocks and singing beautiful, lamenting songs that almost broke my heart. Their long, shining hair spilled down their backs, and their wings... wait. _Wings_?

"Elliott," I whispered frantically, "We have to get out of here, before they see us. _Now_."

But he was in a trance. He dropped his things and started to walk into the lake. I pulled frantically at his arm.

"No! Please," I whisper-begged, "Please come with me! Let's go!"

He kept walking. Now the water was up to his knees. I started to panic. What if he started swimming? I dropped my backpack (but kept my sword) and followed him. Then the women noticed us. They still sang, but now they were giggling and playing with their hair, and the song turned from a lament to a faster song that made you want to sing with them.

"Elliott! They're sirens!" I cried, "Don't fall for it!"

He was now up to his neck. His eyes were wide, and he kept going towards them, "Come on, Harm. What's wrong with going to say hi to the pretty girls?"

He couldn't touch anymore, so he started swimming. We were only about twenty yards from them now... fifteen... ten... five....

Soon we had reached the rocks, and I clutched my sword discreetly behind my back. I knew that this would have to result in death. The first siren pulled Elliott towards her and stopped singing. She giggled, and pushed him at a rock. My heart sank like a stone. They were going to try to kill him. I knew it. Pulling out my sword, I lunged at her. Since she wasn't expecting me, my sword plunged through her heart. I smiled grimly and started to the second.

"Harmony! What are you doing?" Elliott was staring at me, "Why did you..."

The other two sirens stopped singing and stared at their dead friend. Then the trance on Elliott was broken, so he snapped into action. Since he had dropped his sword, he reached for a rock instead.

"Throw the rock at the blonde one. I'll go for the brunette. When I kill the brunette, I'll go for Blondie, who you will hopefully have knocked out by then," I hissed to him. He nodded, focusing on Blondie.

"On three," He whispered. I nodded.

"One."

I tensed my muscled, slowly dropping to a crouch.

"Two."

I pulled my sword up so it was pointed in front of me, tensing my muscles...

"One."

I sprang forward and lunged at the siren. She cried out, a gut wrenching cry. It almost made me feel guilty to hurt her, but I shook my head of the thought. No. I had to kill her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elliott's rock hit Blondie and knock her down. She fell onto rock, her forehead cracking open and blood spilling out.

"Nice one!" I shouted, and then I lunged at Blondie and struck her heart. She slowly faded away. And that left one. She hissed at me, and jumped into the air, beating her wings. I stood there until she dove down at me and I slashed her in two. She, too, faded away, until I was left there panting, alone with Elliott.

"You. Are. Sooo dead to me," I gasped, sitting down on a rock, "Why did you have to follow them? You. Dingbat."

He looked sheepish, "Sorry. But that was their purpose, to lure sailors to them. They would sit on rocks and sing, their beautiful songs causing sailors to turn their ships to them. Then the ships would crash on the rocks."

"I know what they are," I snapped, "But you didn't have to be stupid enough to fall for it."

"You can't just _fall _for their song," He said scathingly, "It puts you in a trance. You don't just choose to be drawn to it."

"Well I was able to stay normal," I retorted.

"You're a girl," He seethed, "You obviously wouldn't be their target!"

"So?" I demanded, "If their song is so beautiful, then why is it just men drawn to it? I'm sure women would think it was beautiful too! Unless you were weak!"

"Are you calling me weak?" He yelled, "Because I'm ten times stronger then you! You're the weak one! A freaking Cyclops practically made you an amputee!"

He pointed to my weak arm. I bristled.

"Yeah? Well, have you noticed a trend with these monsters deaths?"

"No, what?" He demanded.

"I've been the one to kill them!" I shouted, "So why don't you step up and do something? That gives me four kills and you... what's that? Zero? So don't go calling me weak!"

I grabbed my pack and started to run. For some reason, I was crying. I heard Elliott call my name, but I just kept running, until I collapsed under a fallen tree, curled up in a ball, and fell asleep.

**Ha, I had fun writing that fight. It was pretty entertaining.**

**Review! Please please please review! I know people are reading this, but no one's reviewing! Please just say if you liked it or hated it, at least. I'm not kidding, even one or two words would make me happy.**

**(But long reviews make me happier :) LOL)**


	6. The Bakery

**Just too clear up any confusion, Harmony thought the sirens were Ella because Ella has a beautiful voice. Sorry for any confusion there.**

**ARGH!!!!! I'M GOING MENTAL WITH THE LACK OF REVIEWS!!!!**

**Disclaimer: We've been through this before. I don't own the dang story.**

When I woke up the next morning, first I felt panic. All I could see was green, leafy bushes and tall trees. I couldn't even see the sky through the woods. Some sunlight filtered through the trees, but it only cast a greenish light on the forest, somehow making it even more eerie.

_What happened? _I thought in panic, _Where am I?_ Then I remembered- the fight. Biting my lip anxiously, I sat up and looked around. Trees. Bushes. More trees. What way had I come from, anyway? And where had Elliott gone? What if he had gotten hurt by a monster?

I grabbed my pack and my sword and started walking. I didn't know where I was going; I just walked down the dirt path that wasn't far from where I had woken up. I was hoping desperately that I would come across Elliott, but I knew that the possibility of that was rare. And besides, what if he was still mad at me? I wasn't really that mad at him... it's hard to stay mad at someone that you're so close too. And even though he _had _gotten us into the siren situation, it hadn't turned out badly, so I wasn't even sure why I had blown up at him in the first place.

I continued ambling down the path, humming quietly to myself like I always did when I walked. I liked to sing. It was sort of a weird stress reliever for me. Then I heard a snap of a branch, and I paused.

"Hello?" I called.

"Harmony!"

I screamed, but then I turned to see that it was only Elliott.

"Shit, Elliott! You scared me!"

He smiled wanly, "Sorry about... blowing up at you. It was kind of my fault that we got into the stupid situation in the first place."

I smiled back at him, "No, you were right. Sirens were made to lure men to them. It's not your fault."

"So... we're both apologizing, right?" He asked, "So we're both not mad anymore?"

"I'm not mad if you're not."

"I'm definitely not mad."

We smiled at each other and exchanged a quick hug before deciding to discuss our primary issue; Ella. We still had no idea where she was or what we would do to find her. And if the Minotaur had her, then we didn't have much time left.

"Well, where was the town with the Minotaur?" I asked, "Wasn't that where we were going to go?"

He nodded, so we quickly looked it up on our map and headed in that direction. We grabbed a ride from a city bus, and soon enough, we were facing a sign that said "Welcome to Kirk, population; 5,697" ****A/N: I looked up weird town names, and this was one. I just picked it randomly, so it's not necessarily in the state it's supposed to be in with its correct population. Plus, it's my nickname. LOL.**

"Well, this is it," I said, "Let's go find traces of any attacks, alright?"

Elliott nodded, so we walked closer to the little town. It was a small town at the end of the highway. The houses were all neat and trim, and there were people _everywhere_. I suppose it was the sunny day, but seriously. People were walking around everywhere.

I also saw no sign of Minotaur damage. The way Chiron had said, it made it sound like the Minotaur ripped up half the town. As Alice would say, curious and curiouser. We continued to walk through the town, but we saw nothing that would help us. Not until we came across a store with a gaping hole in the wall- about the size of a Minotaur, I would say. Inside, there was a man who was slowly sweeping the floor. He didn't look like a man who would welcome a monster attack, so I decided that talking to him would be safe.

I nudged Elliott and pointed at the store. He nodded swiftly, and we walked up to the man who was sweeping the floor inside.

"Um, excuse me?" I asked as politely as I could. The man turned around; I would say he was in his sixties. He had neatly trimmed gray hair, twinkling black eyes, and very neat clothes underneath an apron.

"How may I help you?" He asked, setting down his broom and wiping his hands on his apron. I squinted around the store quickly; it appeared to be a bakery. There were delicious looking baked goods lying in a display case by a counter, and I could see the kitchen in the back. Around the shop, there were five or six little red tables, each with four red and silver chairs around them.

The shop had sort of a woodsy smell. Like the floorboards had just been cut down from the trees. But there was also the tell-tale scent of baked goods. My mouth started watering just smelling it.

"We were wondering how that hole came to be," I said, wrenching my mind from the food and pointing to the hole.

"Ah. My lovely little new addition," He laughed, then became serious, "A storm blew a tree through the wall."

I frowned. Even though he looked earnest, I could tell he was lying.

"Please, sir," I said, trying to look as sad-puppy-dog as I could, "But you don't understand. It's crucial that I learn how that hole was made."

The man scrutinized me and Elliott before nodding quickly.

"Fine. If you must know. But first, please, do sit."

He motioned to a table and Elliott and I sat down across from him.

"Where shall I start... ah, yes. Well, you see, a few days ago, a very sweet young girl came by here. She, quite frankly, was beautiful. She had golden curls, and-"

"Sparkling blue eyes," I said excitedly. The man looked alarmed.

"Do you know her?"

"Yes, Mr- I'm afraid I don't know your name," I apologized.

"Johnson. Mister Fredrick H. Johnson."

"Well then, yes, I do know her, Mr. Johnson. She's the reason I was so curious about that hole, you see."

"Interesting," He mused, "Anyway, she asked me if she could buy a muffin. I do specialize in muffins, you know. She asked for a poppy-seed muffin, but I was all out. She did look quite put out, so I offered to make her one. She looked delighted, so she sat down while nibbling on some bread of mine while I went to throw the muffins in. When they were in, I came back to chat with her. She really is a darling girl. Then the muffin timer dinged, so I went back to the kitchen to retrieve them. While I was doing so, I heard a horrible roar- so, of course, I ran back to the front room to see your darling friend being dragged off by some creature. And thus the hole was formed."

I looked at Elliott in alarm. So she was being held captive. She could be _dead_.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Johnson," I said quickly, "Um, did you happen to see where the Min- I mean, where the creature took her?"

"He went that way-" Mr. Johnson pointed out the hole, "And ran as far as I could see. I didn't chase him. No, I'm far too old for that. And calling the police wouldn't do much good, seeing as they already think I'm off my rocker. So I had to let her be taken."

He said the last part rather sadly. I could tell that he had grown rather fond of her during their short time together. What can I say? Children of Aphrodite are charmers.

"Thank you," I said again, "You have been very helpful. And when we return with Ella- alive- we'll bring her here and we'll all buy muffins."

Mr. Johnson smiled warmly at me.

"I would like that a lot."


	7. The Surprises

**Thank you for my recent reviews from: Annie get your Board, Earthlover, and the son of percy and annabeth. I love reviews, they make my day!!!**

**I hope you like this chapter!**

**BTW I figured out the Bob thing! It's all good!**

**Disclaimer: Me no own PJO**

"Alright, do you say we take the creepy path through the woods, or the creepy path through the old abandoned houses?"

I considered my options.

"Hmmm... as much as I love abandoned houses, I think the wood's is the place to search," I said, trying to peer through the trees, "Plus, look there. Doesn't it look like something might have smashed through there?"

Elliott leaned closer to the trees and frowned, "Harmony? Is this... blood?"

I leaned forwards to look and gasped. Blood? Was it Ella's? Was she... no. I wouldn't even let myself think the words. But one look at Elliott's face made me imagine the worst.

"Please don't be such a pessimist," I begged, "I have to think that she was alive. She's my best friend."

"She was mine too," Elliott agreed. I felt a rush of fury.

"She _was _your best friend? Or she _is_? If I were you, I would think very carefully about your next choice of words."

Elliott sighed and started walking into the forest. His response wasn't very promising, but at least he hadn't said anything that would put my hopes down.

I followed him, pulling out my sword in case anything jumped out at me. The trees were slowly rustling in the wind, and I could tell they were mocking me. One would move, and I would jump and turn, only to find it was a trick of the wind. This happened many times before I finally became frustrated.

"Are you hearing things too?" I asked Elliott angrily, "Because I keep hearing things in the fucking trees, I can't believe that we still haven't found Ella, my arm and my face cuts hurt, and I think I'm going to lose it!"

I worked myself into a rage. I didn't even know what I was doing. I started stomping and pulling at my hair, glaring at anything I could. Elliott grabbed my hands and pulled me into a hug.

"Harmony, it will be okay," he said in a soothing voice, "Just calm down, okay? We will find Ella. I'm sorry that I was so pessimistic earlier, but we _will _find her."

I swallowed, my anger suddenly vanishing. It was so weird how Elliott could just control me like that, calming me down or cheering me up whenever I needed it.

"Thanks," I said gratefully. I looked up at him, and he was looking down at me. Suddenly, the whole situation was awkward, and he started to lean into me. I don't know if I was leaning too, or what, but suddenly we were so close that you couldn't have fit your hand between us...

_CRASH_

We jerked apart and whirled around. I know that I should have been thinking, "What was that loud noise? Was it something that was trying to kill us?" But no, I had to act like a typical teenage girl and start fretting over the situation. Why had I almost kissed him? Did I want to? Did I like him? Why did he try to kiss me? Did he like me?

As these thoughts were swirling around in my head, Elliott was staring around wildly for whatever had caused the noise.

"Did you see anything?" He asked, nervously twiddling with his sword, "Because if it was a monster, don't you think it would have charged us already?"

I didn't really hear him, I just nodded at whatever he was saying. Was he really wondering about the stupid noise when he had just almost freaking kissed me two seconds before? Now I was angry again, but I was careful not to let it show. If he found out that I was mad about this... no. It would just be better if he didn't.

"Um," I forced myself to swallow, even though my throat was suddenly dry, "N-no, I didn't see anything. Um... can I have some water?"

He handed me some, but accidentally spilled it all over my arm.

"Damnit, be careful, would you?" I snapped, but then my eyes went wide. I stared at my arm; the cuts were slowly healing into scars. But how could that be? Why would water heal my cuts if I was a daughter of Aphrodite?

Elliott was also staring at my arm. I could tell that the same thoughts were formulating in his mind. Thankfully, at that moment, we got an iris message from Chiron.

"Hello kids!" He smiled at us, "How are you doing on your quest?"

"Chiron?" I asked, trying to swallow again, "Elliott just spilled water on my hurt arm... and my cuts healed."

Chiron looked worried, but started asking questions as calmly as he could.

"Has this ever happened before?"

I shook my head.

"Have you been in water before with these cuts?"

"No... well, yes, but I kept them out of the water."

"Do you have _any _idea who your real father is?"

Once again, I shook my head.

"Chiron, do you really think that I could be... a daughter of someone else? Like... Poseidon? He's the god of water, so wouldn't this relate to him?"

Chiron nodded, "I'll have a word with both Aphrodite and Poseidon immediately. Because if you have two gods for parents..."

My heart almost froze. I knew where Chiron was coming from. If all of my blood came from gods... then wouldn't that make me a god, too?

**HAHA, plot twist!!! OMG I had no idea what I would do with this chapter, but I think I went a good way with this. So anyways, review! Review or I'll find you in the middle of the night, steal your computer, and review myself from your name. Just kidding... I couldn't do that. But still.**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!**


	8. The realization

**Thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews!!! **

**That's all I really have to say, besides... enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the freaking story!!!!**

As soon as we were done IM'ing Chiron, Elliott took me straight to the nearest motel (Kirk was too little to have any hotels). Once we had checked out our room (not nearly as nice as our previous hotel, but it would do. I had camped out many times before.

Elliott started making dinner. I could smell the spaghetti and sauce from the bedroom, which I had taken over, basically shoving Elliott out of so that I could try to think. But it wasn't working. As I lay on the lumpy bed, trying to punch my pillow into shape, the only thing running through my head was, _oh my gods, what if I'm a goddess? What if I'm not a half-blood? Why me? Am I really? Oh god, what if I am a goddess??_

"Dinner!" I heard Elliott yell from the small kitchen. I sighed and rolled over on the bed. I didn't feel like eating. What if I _was _a god? Would Elliott and Ella think that I was a freak?

"Harmony, you can't hide in there all day."

This time, his voice was coming from right outside the door. I sat up angrily.

"Yes I can!" I yelled, "I can do whatever I want. It's a free country!"

Elliott popped his head through the door.

"Harm, you're my best friend. I can't stand to see you like this. Please at least come and talk to me, okay?"

I glared at him, but I obliged and followed him into the kitchen. I sat down at the table, and he brought me my spaghetti and meatballs. I tried to eat, but it felt like rubber.

"Harm, why aren't you eating?" He asked, concerned, "I don't even know what's so wrong about being a goddess... I mean, that's cool, right?"

He grinned, but I could tell that it was fake. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Because everyone would treat me differently. It would suck. And I would live forever. And all my friends would die before me. And... and... and I just don't want to be a goddess."

I bit my lip and looked down at the table. All I could focus on was the hysteria that was bubbling up inside of me, but I pushed it down. I really didn't want to totally lose it right now.

"Harm, I wouldn't treat you differently. And I don't think that Ella would, either. And, yes, your friends would die, but you would make friends with the Gods. Trust me, it wouldn't be so bad. And living forever would be awesome. I mean, come on. You could do everything that you ever wanted without having to think about dying, or getting hurt, or anything."

Then something dawned on me.

"Elliott! That's it!"

He stared at me questioningly.

"I can't be a goddess! It's just not possible!"

He kept staring at me, but I didn't care. I was just so excited about my recent discovery. I leapt up and ran into the bedroom to grab a small handful of golden Greek coins that would allow me to IM Chiron.

**Sorry if that's sort of a cliffhanger. I'll post the next chapter soon. I might actually get 3 posted today, since it's a Saturday and I'm stuck watching my siblings. :P**

**Anyways, review!!! I'm quite disappointed with the lack of reviews!!!!**


	9. The Starry night

**I'm baaack! With yet another chapter today!**

**BTW, thanks to Annie Get your Board, who gave me an idea for this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: how long do I have to post a disclaimer? Because it's not like people are going to read this chapter first, and since they won't, they'll read the first chapter first, which clearly states that I don't own PJO!**

"Harmony, back so soon?" Chiron asked with surprise once I had IM'd him, "I was just researching about our recent... discovery."

"Chiron, I can't possibly be a goddess," I said excitedly. He frowned at me.

"Well, what else could you be?" He asked, "You are a daughter of Aphrodite, we know that for a fact. And you healed yourself with water. Aphrodite has no water powers."

"Well, maybe I'm a daughter of a son of Poseidon," I suggested, "But I can't be a full goddess because I bled a red color. And gods and goddesses bleed ichor, which is a watery discharge. So I can't be a goddess!"

Chiron looked impressed with me.

"Good job, Harmony," He smiled at me, "I'm glad that you figured it out."

I frowned at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, "You mean... you knew, the whole time, that I wasn't a goddess?"

He nodded.

"Harmony, you've always been a very independent person. I knew that if I just told you, it wouldn't do you any good. I had to let you figure it out on your own. That's just your learning style."

I should have been surprised that he knew 'my learning style,' but I wasn't. Chiron had always taken to talking to me and getting to know me. He had always been like a dad to me.

"So how do we know why Harmony can control water?" Elliott asked.

"We don't. But I was wondering if we could conduct some experiments. Harmony, can you move the water from the glass on the table to over here?" Chiron asked. I shrugged.

"Come on, Harm. There's no harm in trying."

I nodded, slowly focusing on the water in the glass. I reached out with my mind, trying to grab it. Slowly, the water started to rise. My eyes widened; I glanced at Elliott to see that his did, too. With my lapse on concentration, the water sloshed all over the ground.

"Impressive," Chiron said thoughtfully, "So you have powers over water, but it's not _too _powerful. So... hmmm..."

I let him think it through. The image of the water rising slowly stuck in my mind... I couldn't believe that I had just done that! I had powers over water... and even though they weren't that powerful...

I had a sudden thought. If I had powers, but they weren't full...

"Chiron," I asked, "How many half-blood children of Poseidon are there currently alive?"

He thought about it for a minute.

"I only know of two," He said thoughtfully, "There could be more, but I only think there are the two. Percy Jackson, you've heard of him. He's... hmm... I think he's fifty by now. And then there's William Cade. He's probably forty or so. Why?"

"Because," I said excitedly, "We know that Percy isn't my dad, seeing as he's happily married and has a child of his own. But what about William?"

"But what does that-" Elliott started, but I cut him off. I was too excited to wait for a simple question to be asked.

"If I can't be a goddess, but I possess the traits of two gods, then maybe I'm more then half god, but less then a full one. What if I was three-quarters god?"

Chiron looked thoughtful. After considering this for a moment, he smiled broadly at me.

"Well done, Harmony," He said in approval, "I think that you've found your father!"

I grinned broadly. This was good news.

***

"What if he doesn't like me?" I whispered, late that night. Elliott and I were lying on the cool grass outside of our motel room, sipping sprite and munching on crackers. The stars were shining above us, and it felt like they were watching us, waiting for us to make our next move.

"Harmony, don't worry. I'm sure this Cade guy will love you. Maybe... maybe he'll even want you to... to stay with him."

I was surprised by the amount of resent in Elliott's voice. I thought that he would be happy for me, to finally have found my other half. He knew that it was something that I had always wanted, to have a parent that wasn't immortal. Someone that I could actually live up to. Unlike a goddess, who was already perfect in every single way.

"What's wrong with me staying with him?" I asked in surprise, "Of course I would want to spend time with my dad. I mean... I would want to get to know him. I would want to know who gave me half of... well, me."

Elliott didn't answer. He just looked at me intensely, so intensely that I started to feel uncomfortable.

"Elliott..." I started, but he cut me off.

"Harmony, I don't want to lose your friendship. I have to stay at camp Half-Blood all year ever since my mom died. And since Ella only goes to camp during the summer, you're my only friend there all year. But if you left, then I'd be all alone."

Now I was the one who didn't respond. I didn't know what to say. I had never thought of Elliott as only having us for friends. I had always assumed that he had gotten along with everyone else in his cabin. I decided to voice this thought aloud.

"What about the other boys in your cabin?" I asked.

"They all have their own things going on," He sighed, "I just never really fit in with them. And besides, they all leave for the school year. They're only summer-goers."

I put my hand on his shoulder, which was sort of an awkward bend, seeing as we were lying down.

"El, you know that I wouldn't just abandon you like that," I said, "You're one of my two best friends. And I barely know my dad. You think that I'm just going to suddenly be best friends with him? Of course not. And I don't even know if he's my dad yet. I won't know until Chiron gets back to us."

"You're right," He yawned, and took hold of my hand, "I'm sorry. I should be happier for you. You've always wanted to know this."

I turned my head to smile at him, and opened my mouth to speak. But before I could, a horrible roar came from above me. I stared up at the sky and my mouth popped open. I saw a large shape slowly sinking from the stars... for a moment, the thought _descended from heaven above _was stuck in my head, but I soon shook it out. Next to me, Elliott seemed to be just as weirded out as I was.

"Harm, I think it's a dragon," he said in a panicky voice, "How the hell are we supposed to kill a freaking dragon?"

"Stab it with a sword," I responded, my mouth slowly going dry. Then a realization hit me like a train.

"Shit! I left my sword inside!" I cried, starting to run to the door. Too late. The dragon had landed right in front of me and started roaring its head off. I stared up at it. A real dragon... holy crap. It was _huge_. I could only stare.

I had seen pictures of dragon's, but in real life they were so much more magnificent. This one, for example, was a lovely shade of deep auburn. It's wings were spread high into the sky, and I could see every vein in the moonlight. There were claws on the edges of the wings, and on the dragon's back, there were these insane white spikes. It was both beautiful and horribly scary at the same time.

"Harmony! Get your head out of the clouds and focus!" Elliott yelled. He had already jumped up and was instinctively grabbing for his sword... which he had left inside. Well hell. What where we supposed to do now?!

"El, find a rock!" I yelled, suddenly seeing the decorative rocks lining the porch. I seized one and chucked it at the dragon. It hit him/her square in his/her glistening ruby eyes. That really pissed him/her off. The dragon roared, but this time there was an added bonus. Fire started spewing out of his/her mouth, and she started creeping towards us. And yes, dragon's _can _creep. Freakily well.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elliott grabbing at a rock. He threw it at the dragon, but it missed.

"Hurry! Go grab our swords!" He yelled, grabbing another rock, "I'll keep her at bay!"

"How do you know it's a girl?" I asked. I know, I know. So many things I could have been doing, and yet I just had to ask how he knew it was a girl.

"Did you really just ask that?" He cried. I nodded, and he rolled his eyes at me while finding another rock, "Look, multiple reasons! Just please... go grab our swords!"

I ran inside and started tearing the bedroom apart until I finally found them. Breathing a sigh of relief, I tore outside.

"El, I got them!" I yelled, only to see that the dragon was gone. Without her, it was scarily quiet.

"Elliott?" I said quietly, "Where are you?"

No answer. I was starting to feel quite scared now.

"Elliott," I said, feeling quite dizzy. And then I saw him, lying on the ground, unconscious. He was lying with his arms and legs all in awkward positions, and there was blood trickling down his legs, where there was a _huge _cut. I wanted to puke, but before I could, the ground rushed up to meet me, and all went black.


	10. The Cave

**I am very disappointed in the lack of reviews, but to the few people who are (Annie get your Board, Earthlover, Arctic Cheetah) thanks much!**

**I'm sorry that she's not a goddess, but I just didn't think that it would roll with the story very well. So I made her a very large portion goddess. Once again, sorry if anyone is really disappointed. But maybe I could make someone else a goddess... hmmm, I'm having fun speculating here....**

**I should probably stop my babbling and get on to the story now.**

**Disclaimer: I own the story.**

**Haha, I said it and the sky didn't fall!!! But sadly, I lied. I do not own PJO.**

"Harmony."

I groaned. Why did someone have to wake me? I was having such a lovely dream... what was it about again?

"Harmony, please. Wake up."

Maybe if I ignored them, they'd go away...

"Harmony Arial... er, Daughter of Aphrodite, wake up this instant or I will smack you."

My eyes snapped open. I was too sore to be hit.

"What do you want?" I demanded, squinting into the sunlight. I could only see Elliott's outline as he hovered over me protectively.

"Harmony, you're covered in blood," he said worriedly, "You have another cut on your cheek, and one on your leg. Maybe if we went inside, the water could...?"

I slowly sat up, being careful of my sore head. I examined my leg, and I saw that it was covered in dried, crusty blood. Ick. When did the dragon slash me, anyway? Or did I cut myself later?

I saw that my sword was right under where my leg had been, and was covered in blood. Oh wow. I was probably the only half... er, three-fourth blood to stab myself with my own sword. That, my friend, is an epic fail.

But what about my face? I reached up to touch my face, and I felt a smear of blood. Then I saw that there was a rock under where my face had fallen. Oh my gods. I was _such _a fail at life.

"Harmony, I think we should get you inside. Once you're healed, we can continue to look for Ella."

I nodded slowly, and then glanced up at him.

"El, did you get cut at all?"

He nodded, and pointed to his own legs, which were covered in bandages.

"I got up a little earlier then you did and I took care of my injuries," He explained, "After you ran to get the swords last night, the dragon lunged at me, bit my legs, and flew away. A few seconds later, I fell unconscious. But I heard you yell my name."

"I'm sorry I wasn't faster," I apologized, "This is all my fault."

My hands instinctively went up to my face to trace the cuts. I could feel the scabs and I groaned. Yesterday, the scabs had been hard and healing. Since the rock had scraped them off, now it would take them longer to heal.

"No, it's not," Elliott said firmly, grabbing my hand and moving it away from my face, "Now, let's go clean up those cuts and get on the road."

***

"This is where the Minotaur went," Elliott whispered in my ear. I could feel his breath tickle the side of my face... what was I thinking? I had to keep my head in the game.

I nodded in response. We were currently ducking behind a large rock, staring at the entrance of a very ominous looking cave in the middle of yet another forest. I was getting gods-damn sick of forests.

How did we know that it was the Minotaur's cave, you ask? Well, it's quite simple. There were minotaur footprints all over the ground. So we decided that we just had to check it out.

"Alright," I whispered, "Here's the plan: go in, find Ella, beat the crap out of the Minotaur, flee, and save the day. Got it?"

Elliott chuckled quietly.

"Harm, your plans always... well, put things in perspective."

I grinned at him, and we both went back to staring at the cave. I felt a rush of fear, followed by anger. Why did the monster have to take Ella? Why couldn't he just... die? Or something?

Elliott started to walk into the cave while I fumed about Ella. But that couldn't stop me forever. Slowly, I rose back up and ran into the cave. The only thing that could help my mood right now was to smash a monster... Hello, Minotaur. I bared my teeth at nothing in particular. When I found that Minotaur... well, he wouldn't now what hit him. I walked deeper into the cave, trying to ignore the sickening stench of blood that rose to my nostrils. My foot kicked something, and I gasped when I realized that it was a skull

A _human _skull.

I was suddenly very afraid.

"Elliott?" I said tentatively. I heard nothing, only my own footsteps on the damp stone. I quickened my pace. No matter how slowly or quickly I walked, I would still face the same fate.

"Elliott," I said, now panicky, "Elliott, please."

I stopped walking. Another set of footsteps was coming from in front of me. The next thing I knew, Elliott had appeared by my side.

"Shut up," He hissed, "Do you want to Minotaur to find us?"

I bit my lip, "I'm scared."

I saw worry in his eyes as he grabbed my hand.

"Me too, Harm."

We continued to walk, deeper into the cave. Damn, this was a deep cave. Why couldn't the Minotaur just leap out in front of us? That would ease my nerves. I might die sooner, but at least I wouldn't just have to walk... and wait... for my uncertain fate...

"Will you stop that?" Elliott grumbled. I had started humming again.

"Sorry."

A loud clatter came from in front of us. We both froze, looked at each other, and started running forwards. This could be the moment... come on, Minotaur....

We burst into a large cavern. In the middle, lying on a large stone, was Ella. I let out a sigh of relief and ran forwards to her. She was unconscious, but I didn't care. I was just so glad that I had found her. I felt tears starting to leak out of my eyes, but I didn't brush them away. The saltwater felt oddly nice on my cuts.

I examined Ella's body more closely. She had many bruises and cuts all over her. Her clothes were torn and bloodstained, and she had tear streaks going down her dirty face. But even though she was in such a horrid state, she still possessed a beauty. There's the gift of Aphrodite for you.

Then a horrible roar cut through my thoughts. I had a feeling that my happy moment was about to be ruined... and I was right. I turned around just in time to see the Minotaur grab Elliott and throw him across the cavern. As he hit the wall with a sickening thud, Ella's eyes snapped open, and I let out a scream.

**I just **_**know **_**that the beautiful button down there is calling out to you...**

"_**insert name here**__**, I just know that you want to click on me! Cliiiiiick on meeeeee..... don't resist the pull...."**_

**There ya have it. REVIEW!!!**


	11. The win and the loss

**Hey thank you thank you thank you for the reviews!!! And my reviewers: The son of percy and annabeth, Annie get your Board, and Bob. They made my day!**

**Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, but my parents surprised me and my siblings with a trip to Washington DC, where I sadly had no computer.**

**BTW, do you want Elliott and Harmony to get together? Just wondering.**

**Anyways, enjoy!!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

"Elliott!" I cried, rushing over to him. But the Minotaur swiped his arm at me and threw me into a rock. I bashed my arm and cried out in pain. Ella was now struggling to sit up, her eyes wide as they stared at me.

"Harmony?" She said tentatively, "How did you-"

"No time for that," I spat blood out of my mouth. I had bitten my tongue and it was bleeding terribly, "Let's just focus on killing this guy, alright?"

She seemed to notice that the Minotaur was there and she shrank back against the wall.

"Harm, he... he captured me. He hurt me," She whispered. The Minotaur must have suspected that we were talking about him, because he bellowed and charged me. I grabbed my sword and slashed him in the stomach. Blood was pouring out at an alarming speed, but it didn't seem to faze him. He just charged Elliott, who was now lying unconscious on the cave floor. Ella was still struggling to sit, but I pushed her back down.

"Save your energy," I said quickly before running after the Minotaur. With one great slash of my sword, I cut him in half... and he dissolved. We all sat there for a few moments, breathing heavily, until I realized that the ragged breathing from across the room was slowing down. I ran to Elliott.

"Elliott?" I lightly shook him. A trickle of blood ran down his forehead. I shook him again.

"Elliott, come on," I looked frantically at Ella. Her eyes were still wide from horror, but there was a lot of confusion mingled in.

"How long have I been in here?" she asked.

"A few weeks. We were sent after you about a week ago."

She looked shocked.

"A few weeks? I've been unconscious for a few weeks?"

I then realized how weird it was that she was even alive at all. I frowned. Why had the Minotaur kept her alive? Even though she was just alive by a little bit, she was still alive. Wouldn't he have wanted to just kill her?

"So tell me a little about your quest," She said, lying back down. Her curls tumbled across the stone slab and she stared up at the ceiling, "I'm assuming it was a quest. I don't think you would just charge out here with no permission."

"No, it was a quest," I sighed and walked over to her. I sat down next to her wearily, "Chiron sent us on it. He's been communicating with us ever since."

She frowned as she looked at my face.

"Harm, why are there scars down your cheek? And on your arm?"

My eyes slid down to my arm.

"A Cyclops tried to do me in," I said as casually as I could. Her eyes bugged out.

"A Cyclops? What other monsters did you face?"

"Sirens, a dragon, and... I think that's it," I counted them off in my head, wincing from the memory of each. None had been fun to fight. I couldn't believe that at one point, I had wanted more monsters to attack us. Now... well, now I was just plain worn out.

I heard a rustle of movement and my gaze snapped to Elliott. His eyelids were fluttering and his hand was slowly moving. I waited for his eyes to fully open before I ran over to him.

"Good, you're awake," I said gratefully.

He frowned.

"Who are you? And why did you drag me into this cave?"

I exchanged an uneasy glance with Ella. Something was very wrong here.

**Heh heh heh, a cliffie. LOL. **

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**BTW, isn't it weird now how they changed the review button to like orange? I liked it green... plus, everyone would always say, "Press the little green button," but now that doesn't work. Kinda random, but still.**

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	12. AN

**Sorry, but this isn't an update. I was just sort of checking in…. idk I'm just not quite sure where to go with the story. I've gotten bored with the story… and it's not really going anywhere. So if anyone has any ideas please please please either PM me or send a review.**

**Also, some people said that Harmony is a Mary Sue. After reading the definition, I agree, but I'm not sure how to make her *not* a Mary Sue. So please help me with that too.**

**Thanks much!**


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